Front end looking a bit more front end like, badge/sidelights/air guide/grille/offset plate all fitted. GV lip, undertray and tow hook to follow at somepoint.MX-5 NA 19/11/2017 by Scott Reid, on Flickr

Found some images on my phone of when the car got delivered, pre wash really shows the "death trap" look it was going for.MX-5 NA Day 1 by Scott Reid, on FlickrMX-5 NA Day 1 by Scott Reid, on FlickrMX-5 NA Day 1 by Scott Reid, on Flickr Last picture you can see the Audi that got sold and will eventually be replaced by the Mazda, some of it's been re-invested into car parts. Up there as one of the worst cars I've owned, I'll never buy an Audi out of warranty again!

Also been in contact with Tim@Opie Oils regarding what oil I should be running this on, considering it's a tuned N/A engine and not just a standard 1.8 lump. He recommended 5W40 Synthetic, as it has an oil cooler and won't be going on any track days. If however it starts to burn through oil, 10W50 is the next step.

So I've gone for some Motul Sport 5W40, excellent service from the guys at Opie as always.

Scotty,The difference you have made is amazing. Good to see a rare beastie saved.Out of academic interest, have you yet to carry out a compression check?I noted you point about (potential-future) oil burn and I'm pretty sure, as happened with my own, the 1840cc mill oil ring failures are the most common cause.I have no idea if the Bspec's block internals are different from standard but it's the first thing in my experience to consider (hopefully unrequired) in future.If it ever does happen I can vouch for the boys at AK Automotive are very good for a tight block. They engineer the 1.6 Mx5 Cup Mk1s..and have less of an interest in 1840cc, so by default generally have nice tight mills sans ancillieries ready to pallet at very reasonable prices.

There is always an imbecile you never bargained for. Usually in a Tescon carpark with a dented Zafira minus hubcaps

OldSpice wrote:Scotty,The difference you have made is amazing. Good to see a rare beastie saved.Out of academic interest, have you yet to carry out a compression check?I noted you point about (potential-future) oil burn and I'm pretty sure, as happened with my own, the 1840cc mill oil ring failures are the most common cause.I have no idea if the Bspec's block internals are different from standard but it's the first thing in my experience to consider (hopefully unrequired) in future.If it ever does happen I can vouch for the boys at AK Automotive are very good for a tight block. They engineer the 1.6 Mx5 Cup Mk1s..and have less of an interest in 1840cc, so by default generally have nice tight mills sans ancillieries ready to pallet at very reasonable prices.

Thanks Oldspice, yes we did a compression test the results were inconclusive, there wasn't huge variance between the numbers. Also tried a carbon test on the coolant that came back inconclusive as the amount of rust build up threw the reading out.

We did find however, that the car was massively overfilled with oil. Once we removed some of the oil the smoking issue reduced dramatically. Have been running it stationary on fresh oil/filter with some automatic gearbox oil (as it has higher levels of cleaning additives).

I'll contact AK Automotive and see what they say re: new rings. If it came to that though it'd likely be sat a long time as we've just bought our first house and I've little to no disposable income.

good to see the car now has gone to a good home, I bought two tickets in that raffle but missed out on the car. hope you get the smoking issue sorted. 170bhp is a good number out of the 1.8 n/a, I'm guessing its got different cams and lots of head work ? how does it feel to drive ? have you ever driven a stock 1.8 to compare ?

fealscott wrote:good to see the car now has gone to a good home, I bought two tickets in that raffle but missed out on the car. hope you get the smoking issue sorted. 170bhp is a good number out of the 1.8 n/a, I'm guessing its got different cams and lots of head work ? how does it feel to drive ? have you ever driven a stock 1.8 to compare ?

scott

Thanks Scott, I think it's the only raffle I've ever witnessed go the whole way and have a winner at the end. Tried that BOTB a couple times, but always miles away from winning.

I'd intended to buy 3 tickets, don't know if you saw on Facebook or not, but he'd tried to contact me several times for payment but I wasn't receiving the messages, only by extreme luck I even checked before we went out to dinner in Barcelona and bought the last number available!

I've driven a mk2.5 1.6 and Mk3 2.0 which are about 170bhp but 100kg more, never a mk1 of any guise. From what I've been able to find out it has larger higher compression pistons, new cams, remap and raised rev limiter to 8000rpm.

I'm hoping the smoking issue is just overfilled with oil, if it eventually goes pop I'm not sure what I'll do yet.

I do have a spare engine from 94' 1.8 on 90k miles if you ever need a spare engine (before I do!).

So, where to begin....throughout this whole debacle I've tried to resist doing anything with the Mazdaspeed engine, a rebuild of any sort and it would be more economical to swap the engine. With that, the inevitable has happened and at this stage I'm so far down the rabbit hole giving up would be a financial mistake x_x so the decision is made, out the engine comes.

We're committed!

I've never swapped an engine before, but I've watched a few You-tube videos, so that's about the same right?

First things first, drop the fresh oil that went in 20 miles ago:MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on FlickrOh dear, that's not a good sign x_x

Next, remove the radiator and any attached hoses wires, taking care to label everything for ease of re-installation, I'll need a new radiator fan as it's pretty beat up.MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on Flickr

We decided to leave the gearbox in the car, having already swapped the clutch we knew what to expect regarding bell housing bolts etc. Only tough points were disconnecting the starter motor electrical connections. Engine ready to be removed:MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on FlickrEngine out, the bays covered in a lot of oil:MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on FlickrOld engine right and replacement left:MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on FlickrDecided to swap over the starter and alternator as we knew they worked, also changed: rubber fuel lines, oil cooler rubber hoses, oil filter, rear camshaft seal, coolant hoses, many many hose clips that had perished.

MOT failed on an oil leak at the rear of the block, the likely culprit being the CAS O-ring, looked like it had never been changed since the factory, brittle like plastic with no play. For anyone that hasn't changed this I'd recommend getting it done, the heater hose below hadn't burst with oil dripping on it, but it wasn't in good condition and couldn't have been far off.MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on FlickrMX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on Flickr

After that it was a case of getting the replacement engine into the car, not as bad as expected, it can be done leaving the box in place. I'm not sure there would be much time difference between the two methods.MX5-NA 05/02/2018 by Scott Reid, on Flickr

So that's how it sits currently: exhaust manifold, air intake, new oil and new coolant are to be sorted then we can see if it starts and how well it runs.

I've still to get replacement exhaust gaskets, engine mounts, a ball joint and some dust covers. Plus a new radiator fan an lower radiator mounting brackets as they're toast.

Once we've confirmed it works and passed an MOT, the engine will get new plugs, leads, water pump and cam-belt.

So the project lumbers on, not quite as special as before, but at least it might actually get on the road this year!

drumtochty wrote:Those figures suggest that the MAF, O2 sensor and or CAT is gone but the 8 or so reading suggests more than the CAT or O2 sensor.

Therefore are you using the same

ECUMAFO2 sensorCatthermo sensoridle control valve etc with the different engine.

Did you do a flash test to check if there were stored error codes before removing the original lump.

No Flash test carried out but we will do it on this engine once in.

ECU - NewMAF - OldO2 sensor - Old, but test and replace where necessary.Cat - Old but will look for a replacement once run in if faulty (likely full of oil).thermo sensor - Newidle control valve etc with the different engine - New

The 02 sensor had been tested and was working prior to the MOT.

Pulling the head at all, it was more beneficial to swap engines, so hopefully we've made the right call.

Not the best outcome Scotty.Maybe...the dirty "new" oil was partly promoted by the well known 1840cc oil ring failure as mine did...or valve seals but I'm just guessing there.From what I read of the Stage 2 specs does this mean "only" the high compression pistons & cams go or is lightened flywheel going as well? Not sure it would be worth the aggro changing that over tbh.What spec is the replacement Scotty? Is it a known oil tight spinner from a rot box somewhere?Might be down on a few hi-spec BHP but at least it'll hit the road.What about a later "project rebuild" of the original mill in time?Alright for me to say I suppose!

There is always an imbecile you never bargained for. Usually in a Tescon carpark with a dented Zafira minus hubcaps

OldSpice wrote:Not the best outcome Scotty.Maybe...the dirty "new" oil was partly promoted by the well known 1840cc oil ring failure as mine did...or valve seals but I'm just guessing there.From what I read of the Stage 2 specs does this mean "only" the high compression pistons & cams go or is lightened flywheel going as well? Not sure it would be worth the aggro changing that over tbh.What spec is the replacement Scotty? Is it a known oil tight spinner from a rot box somewhere?Might be down on a few hi-spec BHP but at least it'll hit the road.What about a later "project rebuild" of the original mill in time?Alright for me to say I suppose!

Thanks OldSpice, indeed not the best outcome but not the worst. Without the emissions fail it wouldn't have been a bad fail, not even an advisory for corrosion.

From what we can tell, it's likely the rings are toast at a minimum: rough oil, overfilled and constant limiter bashing saw to that. Yes pistons, cams, flywheel and ECU should be the only difference performance wise. So flywheel should be the only part that remains.

Replacement engine is from a 94' import and standard, known runner from a car that was going to be tracked but had rotted in half (same place I got the gearbox, LSD and shafts).Only point of concern being the cam cover has silicone sealant the whole way round, which will be rectified before it hits the road. We've serviced what we can until it's a proved runner.

Loose plan for the engine would be to try and teach myself how to rebuild it, it'd be next year as I'm financially bankrupt with a recent house purchase and wedding this year. I've read/watched a lot of resources, but with none of the tools etc. costs would mount up far quicker than I could cope with.

My Dad's cracked on in my absence, just sent me a video, cars started up first time! Idling at 2000rpm, but adjusting/checking the timing/throttle and swapping the ECU to a standard will hopefully resolve.